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In Bucharest, people who donate blood receive a government bond offering an interest rate of up to 7%. While this may sound like a creative marketing campaign, it has a serious background: Romania is short of both blood donors and money in the state coffers. But what does it say about the financial situation of an EU country when it turns to its investors at the donor's table?

The hype surrounding AI is being put to the test. Data centres need to be set up, capacity needs to be booked and investments totalling billions require recouping.

America's problem isn't the $40 trillion in debt. The real ailment is a hangover from a 2010s anomaly—the zero-rate era. And now, just as the bond market normalizes, refinancing that debt is becoming an acute challenge.

Washington is shifting its role in the economy from that of a rule-maker to that of an active participant: fewer regulations, but more direct investment, record tariffs, and market access subject to authorisation. Government intervention has always existed, but not in this form. Read our Spotlight article to find out what has changed today and why this is significant for the valuation of US assets.

Rather than simply claiming that we are living in a bubble, we propose a diagnostic tool: observable markers that distinguish healthy growth from severe overvaluation. Three markers assess supply, one assesses demand; only the last one can trigger the downturn.

Last week, the European Commission presented its legislative proposal for the Chips Act 2.0. The aim is to establish Europe’s semiconductor strategy on a sovereign footing in the long term. However, our Head of Portfolio Management, Jörg Held, points out that processes, regulations and bureaucracy must be overcome before the draft becomes law. For investors, this means that European chip champions remain attractive, but the political timetable is dampening the euphoria.